Achievements and Aspirations:
Presenting the 2011 Annual Report
Prepared for the Readers, Benefactors, and Partners of the Legacy Project
December 21, 2011
Dear Friends,
It is that time of year again, the time of giving and receiving gifts, of celebrating good fortunes and of looking to the future with that sense of possibility inspired by hope.
All that we have been able to accomplish at the Legacy Project is a gift. We have been gifted the brilliant works of Dietrich von Hildebrand, and the charge to augment their impact on our culture. We have been gifted the support of numerous friends and benefactors.
At the same time, we have worked diligently to give our own gifts, in the form of our publications, such as The Nature of Love, as well as our conferences, symposia, and various events designed to promote von Hildebrand, and the life, ideas, and culture for which he stood.
Today, I am excited to offer another gift, just in time for the holidays: our 2011 Annual Report (which you can download as a pdf by clicking on the image to the right). Now, there is nothing of itself remarkable about an annual report, but then not every organization is rooted in the value-focused philosophy of one of the 20th century's great Catholic intellectuals. So we thought our Annual Report should reflect not only what we've done, but who we are, and what we value.
One of the challenges of our work, all the more so given our small staff, has been finding ways to communicate effectively our diverse portfolio of initiatives—which encompass far more than just translating and publishing, as important as these are. In our Annual Report, you'll find features on our major international conference in Rome; on two important new programs, our Summer Seminar and our Fellowship Program, as well as short profiles of other smaller events and critical developments. You'll also find out about upcoming projects, such as our major new website initiative, our forthcoming publication of von Hildebrand’s Anti-Nazi essays, and our nearly-completed translation of von Hildebrand's magisterial two-volume work on beauty, his Aesthetics.
You'll also find out about the people who form and inform our organization. There are so many whose tireless dedication, financial support, and special gifts have proven vital to our growth. In the Annual Report, you’ll be able to meet people like the newest member of our Advisory Council, Maestro Manfred Honeck, the internationally renowned conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; you’ll meet the three new members of our Board of Trustees, Anthony C. Gualandri, Robert L. Luddy, and Duncan C. Sahner; and you’ll meet our first-ever Director of Communications, Christopher T. Haley.
Beyond providing a window into our past and upcoming initiatives, the Annual Report is also meant to offer a concrete expression of our values.
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We value the pursuit of truth; that is why we publish great works of philosophy.
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We value culture and community; and so we hold conferences, dinners, and roundtables.
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We value persons; so we offer students a chance to immerse themselves in the work of von Hildebrand.
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We value transformative education; and so we are making von Hildebrand's works available as broadly and easily as possible through our new website.
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We value the good; and so we promote a unitive vision that speaks to the whole person, magnifying the light of truth in a sometimes dark world.
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And we value beauty, as the comprehensive, universal language of truth and goodness; so we have made an Annual Report that is not only informative, but beautiful, in which our values flower forth from the leaves of each page
These values are not ours—they have been entrusted to us—and we are delighted to offer them to you today, for we know that no gift is truly received that is not also shared.
Thank you for your continuing support of the Legacy Project, and for receiving the gift of our Annual Report. I hope you will find it engrossing, encouraging, and even surprising, and I look forward to offering a continued stream of riches from the work, life, and vision of Dietrich von Hildebrand.
On behalf of the staff, trustees, and advisers of the Legacy Project, I wish you a blessed Christmas and happy New Year.
Yours Faithfully,
John Henry Crosby,
Founder and Director
PS To download the Annual Report, please click on the image above.
